So, you’d like an article about the Exeter music scene? Ok. Are you sitting comfortably? Then I’ll begin…
Muse, Chris Martin, Tom Yorke, Will Young and OH JUST STOP WILL YOU? STOP. Quit wheeling out the same names… That’s not a scene, that’s a history lesson.
Let’s open our eyes and dig a little deeper shall we? Let’s grab a pickaxe and chip away to see what the city of 2024 has to bring to the table. Because right here, right now, something is happening…
Largely centred on The Cavern and revolving around the burgeoning spinning sister label , a new wave is crashing into town… a new scene that isn’t afraid of working together for the common good. Bands with a garage punk mentality and a healthy dose of ambition. Bands that have something to say. Bands that are having a damn good time being in a band and are making sure the audience is right there with them.
And yes, it’s early days… many of these groups are only on their first releases. Some may not reach a second. But they’re hungry for it and that’s what matters.
They are the Exeter Salt.
THE MAISONETTES
Now in their third year, making them de facto daddies (and mommas) to the scene, The Maisonettes may have DIY Grrrl band on the label but it’s delivered with a massive dose of punk polish. Pseudo grunge riffs and plugged into the mains to the verge of overload, they’re frantic, lyrically furious and incredibly fun. You don’t like a song, who cares? There’ll be another raw burst of energy along in less than two minutes.
Check out: ‘Loose Ends’.
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist/3v4A403i1NrIYstThyLHrG?si=sH3gtGdRRrCFVgdXwkvY9w
Instagram: @themaisonettesband
BRAMWELL
You want to pin down Bramwell? You might as well be trying to catch a dream in a dynamite factory. Delivering a master class in post-punk jangle pop that stands at a slight angle to the universe, the sheer range of inspiration and influence that permeates their songs gives the group an aura of Velvets-level cool through a CBGBs filter. Light and dark, loud and quiet, refined and raucous, Bramwell repeatedly step up to the plate to deliver.
Check out: ‘Theatrics’.
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist/2e2X88JrpVXz8cjsZlwuHY?si=lYi7Do5iTwCZfTBlU_lKvw
Instagram: @bramwellband
KURTZ
The loudest of the bunch with driving energy and dirt under their fingernails, Kurtz blisteringly balance cheese grater rants with screaming sonic soundscapes that can be curiously transcendent. With sets seemingly on the verge of falling from the edge of a cliff at every moment, they cling on, dragging themselves back to the top just to kick off the noise all over again.
Check out: ‘Waltz’.
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist/2jt9XNbYZwhGmPYw9nDQUt?si=xgvXbH3VRCya4gr3ONEGVg
Instagram: @kurtz_band
SEIZURE SALAD
“Seizure Salad! That name is sick! Let’s have a cheer for that!” Not my words, but the words of NYC’s Tea Eater. Because if there’s someone cool playing through town then you can bet your bunghole dollar that the band called up for support duties will be Seizure Salad. A mixture of Riot Grrrl, proper punk and 60s pop, their glorious combination of a little charm and a lot of style is both crowd pleasing and crucial.
Check out: ‘Lollipop’.
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist/2fV4nKGOg0EaSnEsWGG9rp?si=KCOGgvSMQN20mK1XH4lbpw
Instagram: @seizure.salad.band
pushbike
pushbike don’t like capital letters, which is a dangerous game if you’ve ever had to write about helping your Uncle Jack off a horse. For a group with a musical palette rooted in 80s slacker indie they’re no shirkers, capable of delivering both drawling sun-kissed anthems and grenade-level curveballs of pure noise-pop abandon. Being in a band is brilliant and pushbike want you to know it.
Check out: ‘bet you know’.
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist/5LqB5fe56MxhmRqoaXTND2?si=I8VVlz91RRaPpn-6FH0u-Q
Instagram: @pushbikeband
SILK CUTS
To say that Silk Cuts effortlessly capture the spirit of C86 may be right, but it doesn’t give enough credit for the pains taken to capture a pop paint chart that’s simultaneously innocent and worldly wise. Elusive, like remembering a glorious summer passed and wondering why the memories are all underpinned with a dash of regret, they’re the least aggressive of the gang and glorious.
Check out: ‘Virginia’.
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist/445C3OPV12mpWLSuBYlT0b?si=DPL8iLLcROmaE0xU8t-Suw
Instagram: @silkcutstheband
Article by Peter Richard Adams
Header photo by Lewis Clarke, used under Creative Commons Licence
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